They stayed there until Herod died, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying [Hosea 11:1], "I [i.e., God] called my Son out of Egypt."

and settled in a town called Nazareth, so that it could fulfill what was spoken by the prophets [Isa. 11:1 in the Hebrew text] that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.

[This was] so that what Isaiah the prophet had spoken would be fulfilled, saying,

"You people are [like] salt on the earth. But if salt loses its flavoring ability, how will it ever get it back again? From then on it would be good for nothing except to be thrown out onto the roadway and walked on by people. [Note: This was mined salt which, when losing its "saltiness" due to exposure to the sun or rain, was simply disposed of by being dumped onto the roadway where people walked].

And if your right eye is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], gouge it out and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [Note: This is the word "Gehenna," and because of its Old Testament connotation of burning bodies, II Chron. 33:6, it is used figuratively here, and elsewhere, to describe the place of future, final punishment of the wicked].

And if your right hand is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], cut it off and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Or, what person among you would give his son a stone if he asked you for a piece of bread?

Or who would give him a snake if he asked you for a fish?

Therefore, everything that you would like people to do to you, do [these things] to them also. For this is [what is required by] the law of Moses and the prophets.

Also, people do not put freshly squeezed grape juice into bottles made of previously used animal skins. If they did, the [old dried-out] animal skins would break open and the grape juice would [all] leak out, and the animal skins would become useless. But people put freshly squeezed grape juice into newly prepared animal skin bottles. That way both of them will survive."

[He said] "It will be too bad for you, Chorazin! It will be too bad for you, Bethsaida! For if the powerful miracles had been performed in [the cities of] Tyre and Sidon which were performed in your presence, they would have repented long ago, [demonstrating it] by wearing sackcloth [i.e., a coarse cloth made of goat hair] and throwing ashes [into the air].

And Capernaum, do you think you will be lifted up toward heaven [as a proud city]? [No indeed], you will [surely] go down to the place of the unseen [i.e., become obscure or obliterated as a city]. For if the powerful miracles had been performed in Sodom which were performed in your presence, it would have remained [even] until today.

If you had [fully] understood what this means: 'I desire mercy and not [only] sacrifice,' you would not have condemned someone who was not guilty [of wrongdoing].

He answered them, "Which one of you who has [only] one sheep, and it fell in a ditch, would not reach down and lift it out [even] if it were on a Sabbath day?

so what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled when he said,

Then certain experts in the law of Moses and some Pharisees answered Jesus, saying, "Teacher, we would like to see you perform a [supernatural] sign."

For these people's minds are dull, and their ears have difficulty hearing, and they have shut their eyes. For if this were not the case, they would perceive what they see with their eyes, and comprehend what they hear with their ears, and understand with their minds and would turn [back to God] again so I would heal them [from their sins].'

[This was] so that what was spoken by the prophet would be fulfilled, when he said [Psa. 78:2], "I will open my mouth [to speak] with parables. I will say things that have been hidden from the beginning of time."

From that time onward Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He would have to go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the [Jewish] elders, leading priests, and experts in the law of Moses; [that He would then] be killed and [yet] raised up on the third day.

For whoever would [try to] save his life [i.e., by neglecting spiritual things] will lose it [i.e., miss out on the blessings of God]. But whoever [is willing to] lose his life [i.e., in commitment to God's service] for my sake will find it [i.e., obtain both temporal and spiritual blessings].

He answered them, "[It was] because you had such little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith as [small as] a mustard tree seed, you could say to this mountain, 'Move from here to that place over there' and it would move. And nothing will be impossible for you [to do]." {[{[Some manuscripts contain the following verse:

But that person who causes one of these little ones [i.e., humble followers of the Lord] who believes in me to be led astray [from God], he would have been better off to have had a huge millstone tied around his neck and dumped into a deep ocean [Note: This "millstone" was a heavy circular stone rolled over grain to crush it and was moved by an animal walking in a circle].

If your hand or your foot becomes the occasion for you falling away [from God], cut them off and throw them away. It would be better for you to enter [never ending] life disabled or crippled, rather than keeping both hands and both feet and being thrown into the never ending fire [i.e., because they caused you to fall away from God].

And if your eye becomes the occasion for you falling away [from God], gouge it out and throw it away, for it would be better for you to enter [never ending] life with [only] one eye, rather than keeping both eyes and being thrown into a fiery hell [i.e., because one of them caused you to fall away from God].

What do you think? If anyone had a hundred sheep, and one of them wandered away, would he not leave the ninety-nine [safe ones] and go to the mountains looking for the one that wandered away?

But he would not do it. Instead, he took him and had him thrown into prison until he paid [him] all he owed.

Jesus looked at them and said, "This would be impossible with men, but everything is possible with God."

When he had agreed with the workers [on wages] for the usual farm laborer's pay for a day's work, he [then] sent them to work in his vineyard. [Note: The coin mentioned here would amount to $60-$84 in 1994, based on $5-$7 an hour for a twelve hour day. This coin also forms the basis for calculating all other monetary references in the New Testament].

He responded to her, "What would you like me to do for you?" She answered, "Appoint my two sons to sit at your right side and at your left in your [coming] kingdom."

But it will not be this way among you, for whoever would like to become important among you will become your servant.

And whoever would like to be first [in prominence] among you will be your slave.

They said to Jesus, "Do you hear what these [children] are saying [about you]?" Jesus answered them, "Yes, [I do]. Have you not read [in Psa. 8:2] 'You have ordained that praise would come from the mouths of infants and small children?'"

For John came to show you the way to be right with God, but you would not believe his message. Yet the tax collectors and prostitutes believed it, and when you saw this, even then you did not change your minds so as to believe his message.

"Teacher, Moses said [in Deut. 25:5] that when a man dies without having had any children, his brother must marry his widow and father children by her, who would [then] be considered his [dead] brother's.

And you say, 'If [only] we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we [certainly] would not have participated with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.'

And pray that it will not be in the winter or on a Sabbath day when you will have to flee [from the city]. [Note: Jewish Sabbath day restrictions on travel (only three-fifths of a mile) and city gate closures would make leaving the city nearly impossible].

And if those days had not been as short as they were no one would have been saved [i.e., from the devastating destruction]. But for the sake of the elect [i.e., God's people], those days will be short.

Wherever there is a dead body, [you can expect to see] vultures gathered there. [Note: This may mean that such a significant event as the coming of Christ would surely not go unnoticed].

And the people [i.e., of Noah's day] did not know [when it would happen] until the Flood came and swept them all away. It will be the same way when the presence of the Son of man [arrives].

But you should know this: if the owner of a house had known when a thief was coming, he would have been watching so as not to allow his house to be broken into.

you should have therefore deposited my money in the bank [so] when I returned, [at least] I would have received my own money back, with interest.

and said, "What would you give me if I turned Jesus over to you?" And they weighed out thirty silver coins [Note: This amount was equivalent to about five months of a farm laborer's wages, or approximately $7,000 in 1994], and promised [See Mark 14:11] to give him that much money.

The Son of man is going [to die], but it is too bad for that person through whom the Son of man is turned over [to the Jewish leaders]! It would be better for that man if he had not been born."

[Then] Jesus said to the crowds at that very time, "Have you come out to arrest me with swords and clubs as [you would apprehend] a thief? I sat everyday teaching in the Temple, and you did not [come to] take me.

But all this has happened so that the Scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled." Then all of His disciples left Him and ran away.

But Peter followed Him from a distance [as they were going] to the courtyard of the head priest. He went inside [i.e., eventually. See John 18:15-16] and sat down with the [Jewish] officers to see how things would turn out [i.e., with Jesus' trial].

saying, "You who [said you] would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself [from dying]; if you [really] are the Son of God, come down from the cross."

Therefore, give the order to secure the grave site until the third day, so his disciples will not steal his body and then tell the people 'He has risen from the dead.' This last deception would be worse than the first one [i.e., the claim that Jesus rose from the dead would be worse than the claim that he was the Messiah]."

He is not here, for He has risen just as He said [He would]. Come and see the place where the Lord had been lying,